So I got up at 4 on Saturday morning and headed to the deer woods. I was at the property and parked the truck at 6 o'clock. It was still dark. I changed clothes and got the bow, climbing tree stand and pack on my back and headed up the hill. It was cold, about 20 degrees. I got to the tree and it was just turning light. By the time I got the stand on the tree and up to a good elevation, it was more or less light. I pulled up my pack and set the hooks in the tree to hold the pack and my bow. I pulled up the bow and noched an arrow. I was still getting settled in when I heard a deer blow at me twice. BUSTED. I figured I'd blow back at them to maybe make them think there was another deer where I was. It backfired. They made another blow and then I saw 4 white tails running away from me. I next heard a blow about 250 yards from me, exiting the hollow.
I have got to get up earlier and get in the tree and settled before it gets light, and I need to stay in the tree longer.
It was cold....did I mention that. My rubber boots are the cheap uninsulated kind and my toes reminded me of that constantly. If I want to stay in the tree longer I have got to get some insulated boots. My current boots were fine for October and early November but now I need better stuff.
So, after the hunt which was called off early because all I was seeing was tons of squirrels and I was shivering so much I think the tree was shaking, I went down to the future cabin site and broke out the chainsaw. I cleared a few trees from the trail that leads down to the creek that were still down from the storm last May. I then started trimming down the huge Oak tree that is a real eyesore. It'll make good firewood for a couple of winters.
Now that it's 11:30 I remember that I do have a .22 rifle in the car, so I load it up and head back up the hill to hunt squirrel this time. The only problem is that after 30 minutes of sitting, I see about 6 squirrels but they are staying comfortably out of range for that rifle. How do they know my effective range? Amazing. That's pretty typical of my hunting luck. I see what I'm out there to see, but I never get a shot. If I get a shot, I only lose the arrow. At least the trail is clear. I filled the deer feeder and head home.